Saturday, September 6, 1997
Cooper 15, Garland 10By LANCE FLEMING / Abilene Reporter-News
Usually when a team commits five turnovers, misses two field goals, one extra point and fails to score from the 1-yard line, it can chalk up one in the loss column.
But Cooper has a defense built to overcome just such obstacles.
And it had to do just that Friday night as the No. 6 Cougars survived all those things to beat No. 8 Garland, 15-10, in front of more than 10,000 fans at Shotwell Stadium.
Despite the Cooper offense sputtering more than it purred, the Cougar defense -- expected to be one of the top units in the state -- held the Owls to just 132 yards of total offense on the night.
Garland's defense allowed Richard Rodriquez to rush for 200 yards on 19 carries, but it made big plays when it needed them ... until the final five minutes.
Cooper trailed throughout and didn't secure the win until Rodriquez finished a nifty 67-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run with 2:06 to play in the game. Rodriquez had runs of 26, 16 and 9 yards on the drive before scoring from five yards out.
"I think we finally wore them down offensively," Cooper head coach Randy Allen said. "Our backs kept running hard. I was really impressed with Richard Rodriquez. He's got good speed and quickness, and he made some big runs for us."
Cooper couldn't get the two-point conversion after the Rodriquez score and had to settle for a five-point lead with 2:02 to play.
But Garland couldn't move past the Cooper 40 on its last drive. The biggest play of the stand came when safety David O'Shields tipped away a pass intended for D.D. Dotson that would have given the Owls a first down.
Cooper then ran out the clock to go 1-0 on the season.
"Our defense just played a super game," Allen said. "They came up with big plays all night and kept Garland bottled up. The defense was really great all night."
It had to be because the Cougars couldn't get a rhythm going offensively.
And even when they did they would shoot themselves in the foot with turnovers.
They fumbled four times in the first half -- losing three -- and quarterback Brandon Stover threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown on Cooper's second offensive play.
That gave Garland a 7-0 lead, and on the ensuing kickoff Robbie Johnson committed the first of his three fumbles on the night to give the Owls the ball at the CHS 9-yard line.
But the Owls could only move one yard against Cooper and had to settle for a Jared Hays 25-yard field goal and a 10-0 lead.
"That was a big stand for us," Allen said. "It might have been the key to the game. And the great thing about it was that there was no panic on the sidelines. Everybody stayed focused on the game, and the defense just kept getting better and better."
The Cougars showed a spark on their next series as Rodriquez got his night started with a 45-yard run down to the Garland 35-yard line. Stover then hit Mark Rau with a touchdown pass to bring the Cougars to within 10-6.
But Cooper's final four series of the half ended with, in order, a missed field goal, a fumble by receiver Jesse Sharp at the Garland 22-yard line, a fumble by Johnson and a missed field goal.
However, the Owls couldn't capitalize on any of those Cooper miscues and held only that slim 10-6 lead at the half.
"I was very disappointed in that," Garland head coach Joe Martin said. "That's the difference in the game. If you get five turnovers in a game -- and four in the first half -- you should win the game, period."
Cooper opened the second half with a healthy dose of Rodriquez running the stretch play to the right side. He helped carry the Cougars from their own 20 to the Garland 5-yard line before he left in favor of Johnson. Rodriquez had runs of 35, 9 and 12 yards in the drive.
But Cooper failed to score on two tries from inside the 2-yard line, giving the Owls the ball. The Cougar defense, though, forced a punt.
Stover was intercepted on Cooper's next possession, but the Cougar defense again came up big, this time when Charlie Andrade sacked Matt Nelson, who fumbled and saw defensive tackle Roy Strahan recover the ball at the 11-yard line.
But Garland's defense, led by linebacker Ken Bohanon, held Cooper to a 38-yard field goal by Peter Abrigg and clung a 10-9 lead going to the fourth quarter.
After both teams were forced to punt, the Cougars set about on the game-winning drive behind Rodriquez, who rushed for more than 100 yards for the first time in his varsity career.
"We knew this would be a tough game all the way around," Rodriquez said. "I was a little nervous out there, but I had confidence in the offensive line. I knew what they can do. And everybody knows what our defense can do."
And at least one player thinks it can get even better.
"We were able to get to the quarterback some and hold their offense to almost nothing," said Cooper all-state defensive tackle Kevin Stevenson, who finished with two sacks. "We played pretty well, but we need to get better. There are some things that we can improve on, and we will get better than this." Garland 10 0 0 0--10
Cooper 6 0 3 6--15
SCORING SUMMARY
Garland--Jason Ford 29 interception return (Jared Hays kick)
Garland--Hays 25 field goal
Cooper--Mark Rau 35 pass from Brandon Stover (kick failed)
Cooper--Peter Abrigg 38 field goal
Cooper--Richard Rodriquez 5 run (run failed) Garland Cooper
First downs 7 17
Rushes-yards 31-90 38-239
Passing yards 42 142
Comp-Att-Int 7-18-0 12-21-2
Punts 6-27.7 1-40
Fumbles-lost 1-1 6-3
Penalties-yards 8-40 2-10
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Garland: Ken Bohanon 13-74; Tommy Jones 7-39; Rodney Hall 2-9; Matt Nelson 5-(-34); Mike Thomas 4-2. Cooper: Richard Rodriquez 19-200; Robbie Johnson 12-63; Roy Strahan 1-0; Brandon Stover 6-(-24).
PASSING -- Garland: Matt Nelson 7-18-0 42 yards. Cooper: Brandon Stover 11-20-2 133 yards; Mark Rau 1-1-0 9 yards.
RECEIVING -- Garland: D.D. Dotson 6-34; Reggie Johnson 1-8. Cooper: Mark Rau 4-65; Jesse Sharp 5-53; Robbie Johnson 1-13; Andy Rodgers 2-11.